Ice Storm

Our county is a disaster area.  Again.  In less than a year, we've lived through a tornado that destroyed several homes last February, a wind storm that wiped out power for a week for many in our region, and now an ice storm like we haven't seen in years.  The linemen have worked overtime in each of these situations just to get our power back.  It must be so frustrating for them, especially as trees are falling constantly under the weight of the ice.  I pray God will keep each of them safe as they work day and night to get us up and running again.

We have (or had) several beautiful trees in our front and back yard that are now being desimated by the ice.  And more is coming now, with snow predicted after that.  I will try to post pictures tomorrow.  You wouldn't believe how many huge limbs are down all around our house.  I don't know if we can salvage any of our trees.  I sincerely hope our backyard trees around our swingset survive, but I think one at least may be lost.  They provided such nice shade during summer play.

My husband worked all day to find and hook up a generator, so we have heat and enough power to run our refrigerators, cook, and watch TV.  We still are conserving the lights and only running one small appliance at a time.  Dishwashing will be done by hand for now and we can shower, thanks to a gas water heater. I'm thankful that we can be warm and well fed, especially with "the three" here at home until school gets back in session.  

I dread going to bed, just to be startled by each crack and boom of more limbs falling, like I heard all night last night and all day today.  However, I thank God that we have a warm home to sleep in and pray that He will give each of us the strength to clean up and help our neighbors when the storms are over.  If any of you locals happen to read this and need heat or know someone who does, we have two spare bedrooms you can crash in if you need em.  Stay warm!

9 AM Shopping Report

Kroger was packed.  The milk was dwindling.  The checkout lines were backed up into the freezer section.  All available help was called to the front.  That was just at 9 AM this morning.  We're predicted to get between 1/2" and 1" of ice in our area tonight and tomorrow.  If you have time, run out to the grocery before the afternoon rush hits.  You'd think we were going to get trapped for a week whenever they call for snow around here. :)

Enjoying Where You Are...

On the Way to Where You Are Going is a book by Joyce Meyer that I've been picking at for several monoths now. I haven't read an entire book for years :) This week, I've felt the need to get back into this one.

I was lucky enough to be able to read some at Meg's Upward practice last night, and I think I'll make that a habit. A nice hour just to read and refresh. Ahhh!

Don't we all need some refreshing from time to time? It's been a trying few weeks with several stressful situations. One of the ways I can tell I'm saved is when life gets crazy, I feel the need to get closer to my Rock.

Several Bible verses in this book have really fed my soul this week, but I'll share one of them from this morning:
"You will show me the path of life, in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11

Joyce Meyer says we can't keep saying we believe in God's promises if we walk around depressed all the time, worrying about our problems. We need to hand it over to him and let His joy shine through the tough times. Laugh, smile, and have fun as often as you can! And don't feel guilty about it! Just because a tough situation is upon you, doesn't mean you have to shut down and not enjoy anything in life. Get away from the problem for a while and have fun, however you need to do that.

I think I'm preaching to myself more than anyone, but y'all can take that advice too! Hope you all have some fun today!

How to fold a fitted sheet

I've never been able to do it properly. My mom tried to show me years ago, but to no avail. I may never be able to do it neatly, but here's a great video for all of you who may be secretly struggling like I am :)

Hibernation

I want to hibernate, so badly I could literally curl up about anywhere in a little ball and go to sleep. I especially want to curl up under the electric blanket on our bed, surround myself with pillows and sleep until I want to get up. It's that bad, people.

The sad thing is, I really just WANT to hibernate. I'm not rebelling against it. I think I'm part bear or something. With a husband, 3 kids, and a house to take care of though, hibernation can only come in short bursts between picking up kids, fixing meals, doing laundry, etc.

I think I'm rambling now. Good time to stop and have more coffee...and head to the electric blanket for a few minutes :)

My 5 Addictions Tag

Theresa from "Ramblings of a Crazy Woman" tagged me today with this funny meme.  I think I've already mentioned all these during my own ramblings here, but here goes:

5 addictions that I have:

1.  Everquest II--a multiplayer online game

2.  Webkinz--my substitute for EQII since I need a new video card to play that one.  Surprisingly enough, it's even fun for adults.

3.  Chocolate, especially Ghirardelli chocolate or any other good quality chocolate.

4.  Coffee

5.  American Idol, though since last week's premier featuring "bikini girl", my respect for it has gone down several notches.

I now tag whoever wants to jump in, because I'm too lazy to come up with a list.

Random stuff

Don't ya hate it when you mess up badly and have to face the consequences? To illustrate: I love online bill paying. So much more simple than writing checks and having stamps on hand, etc. Except when you send a payment to the wrong biller. Cingular has now gotten a large Discover Card payment and I now have a nice credit on our cell phone account, except I don't need a credit there...I need a payment at Discover. Upon calling them, I am informed I have to wait 9 days before I can call and have them overnight the refund back to me. To make sure it has cleared my bank and I'm not trying to scam them. *bonking myself in the head*

Moving on....Zachary is in the weaning process. We're down to 3 nursings a day. I am really going to miss nursing him, except that he's become a really rude nursling. He pulls, tugs, pinches, kicks, sratches my face, and pulls my hair. I guess it's best that way, or otherwise I'd really miss nursing him more. My goal has been to nurse each one for a year, and so far, I've met that goal.

Finally, I've been perusing www.marriagebuilders.com. Marriages are under Satan's constant attack, and Christian marriages are no less immune. There are great ideas there to help anyone strengthen their marriage. Don't wait until there's trouble brewing to work on your marriage. It takes constant effort. Now get to reading!

Computah rehaul

Somehow, I've managed to get two bad video cards in a row on my laptop. They should run fine up to 120C, but they booger up around 50 or 60C. My favorite game, consequently, is quite taxing on the video card and I can't run it under 60C. *ahem*

So, it's time for a rehaul. We've been needing extra memory to store and backup things, so hubby is looking into buying 3 new harddrives for the downstairs PC to run in a RAID 5 configuration (don't ask me to explain that...it took hubby about an hour to give me a basic understanding of it) to allow us to back up and store data, pics, etc to keep the laptop as free as possible. We're also installing a modified version of Windows XP called "tiny XP" that will run only the most basic setup without all the crazy applications nobody ever uses. And, we have a new video card coming from Ebay.

Today, I'm cleaning up old files and organizing them so we can move them downstairs and scrub this hard drive. It's kinda scary thinking about that, but hopefully if we rehaul this thing, I'll be back to Everquest II soon....and also we'll be able to burn DVD's of our home videos and other things without getting the "blue screen of death".

It's not ALL about the games, people. But since I can't play Everquest yet, I have to settle for Webkinz. A girl's gotta play sometimes!

Back home today

Yesterday, I traveled back to our hometown to attend the visitation for my friend Jamie's mom. It was good to see Jamie, her husband and two kids. I'd never seen the baby except in pictures. He's almost a year old. But, I wish it could have been under much happier circumstances. Jamie's grief-stricken, but she's strong like her mom always was. Her mom was proud of the great wife, mom, daughter, and friend that Jamie has become.

Jamie and I have been best friends since the 4th grade, when she transferred from a smaller county school to the main county elementary. We even roomed together at UK for 3 years until I got married and moved off to Louisville. Since then, we just haven't seen or heard from each other as often as we'd like.

I realized how quickly the years have passed by, and I so rarely see some of the people I love the most in my life. My only New Year's resolution this year is to be more thoughtful, so I think in light of that, I need to step up my contact with my friends and family that live far away from me. Obviously, with 3 little ones, travel is rather restricted, but I can call, e-mail, send cards and gifts more often...and try to fit visits into our travels too.

Quote of the Day

*From a cute email I got from my cousin Geoff:

We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

Just another awful Monday

Just like Garfield, I've always hated Mondays. Today, I really hated Monday.

First, waking up at 6 am and getting back into the swing of things after Christmas is never easy.

Then, Zachary woke up with a 103.9 temp.

Zoe's been even more energetic than usual and I had to take her with me after preschool to the doctor for Zach, who has his first ear infection.

Then, back home between the doctor and waiting for Rite Aid to get the meds ready, I got a call from my friend Jamie's husband that her mom had passed away this afternoon. We knew it was coming since Saturday, but it wasn't any less easy to hear. She fought a long fight with several health problems over the past several years. She got to enjoy her only child's two kids for a few years, but the oldest will miss her grandma terribly. The youngest is only a year old.

I'll be travelling back to our hometown where the funeral will take place later this week. I know what it's like to lose a mom when you're a young woman. It's hard, but I know that life goes on. Kids still need to be fed. Bills still need to be paid. Eventually, the memories get better, and I pray that will happen for Jamie too. I hope you will lift up a little prayer for them today.

Random post

For all you WGMGB fans (wow, that was long), I am no longer on official hiatus from blogging, though don't expect frequent posts. The holidays have pretty much come to a close. My dear hubby has helped me clean up and put away stuff and life is moving back to a somewhat normal pace. I'm feeling more inclined to blog now.

So, the big party for our 7 year old Megan is tomorrow at the local skating rink. I have made cupcakes and will carry them in my new cupcake transporter I got for Christmas. I may also try skating, though it has been years since I've done it. Megan has been practicing ever since Wednesday all over the house. I'm wondering if skating is like riding a bike--once you learn, you never forget? Guess we'll see how many bruises I get.

Tonight, though, my awesome hubby surprised me with a homecooked dinner. It was all his own new recipes. He made some chicken stroganoff, porcupine meatballs in a zesty sauce, and some pork tenderloin topped with some shredded cabbage salad, mango, peaches, and toated almonds...and he even made a peach/mango reduction sauce. I swear it looked like something you'd see on Iron Chef America. I'm not sure why I still cook :)

I've had a couple thoughts lately about public restrooms. I warned you this was a random post, didn't I? Anywho, ladies, please...if you don't want to do the shaky squatting thing over public toilets, just make sure we ALL sit down on them. Pretty sure we can't catch much from thighs alone. And if you make a splatter, for goodness sakes, clean it up so the next person can sit. My knees are getting too old for the squatting thing.

Now for a more serious public bathroom thought...why in the world can't family establishments put in sinks that little kids can reach? I have been to very few places where my 3 year old can actually wash her little hands without me having to pick her up. Very often, my 7 year old can't reach the handles or soap.

How hard would it be to either lower the sinks or at least put a stool under there so little kids can reach the sink? Sometimes I'm holding the baby and I can't pick up anyone else to help them wash. I bet it's also hard for some handicapped people in wheelchairs to reach these really high sinks.

So, looking for advice here...should I start e-mailing restaurants and other family venues to see what can be done about this? Would it be worth it? What do you think?

Happy Birthday Megan!

Today, my first baby is 7 years old. I can't believe how fast these past 7 years have flown by. It seems like only yesterday we brought that little 6 lb, 14 oz baby girl home. That was the scariest night of our lives, but also opened our hearts to an all new kind of love. One that we've been blessed to repeat 2 more times since then.

We had a great day of celebrating. Meg opened up her new pair of roller skates and has had a blast rolling around the house with them. We watched "Bolt" in Owensboro today with all the kids and bought some party supplies for her party at the local skating rink planned for Saturday.

Now, Bryan and I are munching on veggies, homemade buffalo chicken dip, summer sausage, cheese, and crackers. At midnight, we'll pop open the sparkling grape juice and welcome in the new year. I pray you will all have a good one.

Remembering Mama

Today, I woke up a little bit depressed. I thought to myself, "I wish I could just relax and enjoy Christmas without having to wear myself out preparing for it." And I missed my mama.

She's been gone 5 years now. I still miss her so much. Looking back, I remember how much work she put into making Christmas special for us. Money was always tight, but mama put her special touches into Christmas, making wonderful things for all of us.

This year, I felt more in touch with her as I made homemade ornaments and cookies with my girls. I remembered all the times mama and I spent hours making cookies, candies, angels, and other homemade gifts. We'd stay up to the wee hours of Christmas morning dipping peanut butter balls and making mints. It was exhausting, but so fun. I wouldn't trade that for the world.

So, mama, I thank you for all the hard work and love you put into Christmas for us as I grew up and even after I was grown. I hope I can pass on cherished memories like that for my own kids.

I hope you all have a wonderful, memorable Christmas and if you still have a mama around, hug her or call her and let her know how thankful you are for all the love she put into Christmas for you. God bless you all!

Twas the weekend before Christmas

And all through my house....3 kids are stirring and the place is a wreck. Hmmm, doesn't rhyme. Oh well. Here's my weekend in review for your reading pleasure.

Yep, my house is a wreck and I'm really glad I don't have to host any dinners or parties or anything like that. I honestly don't know when I'll get the time to actually clean. I haven't wrapped anything yet, and I still have 3 recipes to make. Gift baskets to get together. A few more homemade gifts to make.

Oh, and the laundry to catch up so I can pack our bags to travel on Christmas Day. And the "three" take so much of my time and energy, it's hard to fit anything extra in the day.

I finally finished up some forgotten gifts at Wal-Mart this afternoon. Thought I was going to be ran over. That place was packed!

The stuff's still in the car and we just finished some delivered pizza. But I'm taking "Maggie's" advice and I'm sitting down drinking some hot tea and blogging for a little rest. Then it's off to laundry and carrying in groceries.

The weekend's been good, really, though busy. Last night, we took advantage of "Parents' Night Out" and left all 3 kids at the church with the teenagers and raced off to O'boro to use a restaurant gift card we received. We were not more than 5 minutes from the promised land when my cell phone rang. Zach was screaming his head off and they couldn't calm him. So, back we went, plopped him in the car and it wasn't long at all before he had snubbed himself to sleep. When we finally made it to Olive Garden, he was happy as could be. We enjoyed a rather quick dinner, but at least he was happy and ultra-cute during dinner. He does this cute little thing where he snurls up his nose and blows out of it. It's so funny. The kid better be glad he's cute--that's all I can say! :)

Then this morning at church, Zach and I were blessed to play Mary and baby Jesus for an interpretive dance. No, we didn't dance. Are you kidding? I'm as graceful as a drunk rhinoceros. We sat in the center of the stage as Melanie B. danced around us. Zach did really well. I think he was a little freaked out by the bright lights and dancing but at least he wasn't fussy. That's the first time I've been Mary. I've been an angel and a boy in previous Christmas productions, so I guess I'll add that to my resume :)

Ooo, my kitchen's smellin good!

I've made two batches of my chocolate chip pumpkin bread today. This time, I've used two mini loaf pans that make 4 mini loaves each, and each batch fills up both pans nicely, so I'm ending up with 16 mini loaves to give away. Well, 15 actually. I'm eating one :) Oh, and I shortened the baking time to 45 minutes for both pans in there. I'm working on getting gift baskets ready with some homemade gifts to give away. Guess I'll be playing Santa Claus in a couple days!

Woo! Y'all were blessed with 2 posts today...aren't ya thrilled?

Just around the corner

I can't believe Christmas is just 6 days away. I'm trying not to freak out trying to finish up all the baking and such. My poor blog has been terribly neglected, as is my rest and recreation time. Trying to steadily keep at it so I won't have so much to do early next week.

This morning, Zachary had his 9 month checkup and an HIB shot he was behind on. Zoe has an ear infection, so I took her along to get checked out and she and Zachary both got a flu shot too while we were there. She did so well. Didn't cry at all, though she's spent the morning rubbing her "boo-boo". I hope she'll do ok with her 4 year old boosters in about a month. We dropped by Sonic for some milkshakes afterward. That seemed to help :)

I can't believe how quickly these past 9 months have passed. It seems like yesterday we brought that little guy home, and now he's a big baby, crawling, starting to walk and babble. If I got nothing else for Christmas, just having these past 9 months with him are enough. I've so enjoyed watching all my babies grow, and as this year comes to an end, I feel like I'm moving into a new era of simply doing the mommy thing. And it's ok.

My first ENT visit

As if Christmas coming wasn't exciting enough, today I had my first visit with an ENT (ear, nose, throat) doctor.

For several years, I've gotten sinus infections from almost every cold I catch and they go on for weeks at a time. And I'm very grumpy and irritable for that whole time. It's not happy times when mama's sick around here. Every now and then, I give up and go get an antibiotic to clear it up, but inevitably, here it comes around again.

So, I decided enough was enough. I'll see if there's something wrong with my anatomy that's making the ick stick around. Hence, today's visit.

After looking in my ears and at my throat, he sprayed an anesthetic nasal spray up my nose and ran a thin little scope all through the nasal passages and sinus areas.

The conclusion for now: my nose is C-shaped, and my right sinus is not draining properly because of that. He thought it looked like my nose had been broken in the past. I know I've always had a crooked nose, but I don't recall it ever being broken. I was almost a month late being born, so maybe my nose got squished up in the womb or something :)

Anywho, he sucked some of the ick out with a neat little vacuum thing (they DO have nose vaccuums..now where to get one?) and is sending it off for culture. He says he'd like to see if he can target some antibiotics specifically for whatever bacteria is lurking in there. Then, if that doesn't help, I'll be back for a CT scan to see if surgery might be an option.

So, in the meantime, he wants me to rinse out my nose with a Neti pot or the sinus rinse bottle and see if that will get some relief. And, then I guess it's back to more antibiotics...sheesh. Hopefully we'll get the right one this time. Wish me luck!

Oh, and my nose is and upper front teeth are numb from the anesthetic spray. Wierd!

Still around, but barely

I've not been in a bloggity mood at all, and have really been focusing on other areas lately. Sorry if you've not seen me around in blog-world for a while. I'll get back eventually. For now, some bits to update:

Zach is 9 months old today and has taken his first step a couple days ago (we were all present to witness it..he stepped to his daddy!).

My cold is still hanging around and I wish I had a vaccuum cleaner for my nose and sinuses.

My Christmas tree is finally up.

We got our Christmas pics made Saturday, so hopefully they'll be back in time to send out.

Still have a few odds and ends to buy for Christmas, but the shopping's pretty much done. Still need to bake...gotta hit the grocery this weekend. And I need to wrap...I hate wrapping :)

Happy Holidays?...*sniff*

Thanksgiving is over, and Christmas is around the corner. My annual Christmas shopping is almost done and I'm looking forward to my traditional Christmas cookie baking. I'm not, however, enjoying my annual cold/sinus problems that seem to put a damper on each holiday season....especially since we have 3 little petri dishes that keep bringin in the germs!

However, I'm really looking into more preventative, natural measures to tackle these bugs. One thing I like to avoid unless absolutely necessary is taking antibiotics. Today's antibiotics are growing less and less effective because of over-use. Too many doctors are prescribing them for the common cold when the cold really just needs to run its course.

Doing my online remedy research today, I ran across this interesting article that sums it up better than I can. If you can ignore the annoying sidebar links, read it and see why you should probably delay that doctor visit the next time you get a cold. I'll just sip some more hot tea while you read, ok?

http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/1998/03/wellbeing.html